I used to love his game and work ethic. I guess now he's out of the NBA, but I never can find any news on him. It's like he vanished from the face of the Earth. There is never any word on him. I don't know how he got so bad at basketball when he was actually effective early in his career. How do you go from 12 points a game/borderline upcoming all star to half a point? I guess he just stopped caring about the game and was too busy in the strip clubs.

Last I heard - from an interview he gave in April 2015 - he was happily removed from the game, had no desire to return, wouldn't rule it out someday, and was happy that the Warriors were doing so well.

But really: good riddance. Biedrins, prior to his contract extension, was my favorite Warrior. I have always been a fan of the post game, while most fans tend to gravitate towards flashy, high-scoring guards. I simply find tough rebounders, inside defenders, and guys who can score with their back-to-the-back more impressive. That being said, Biedrins spat in MY face and every other fan's face the day he got an $80M pay day and decided to just coast his way out of the league. I believe he would have LOVED to have been amnestied or waived at any point. This is a guy who was 100% all about the money, not the dream of playing in the NBA.

I'd like to see that interview if possible. I do believe that Biedrens lost his passion if he ever even had any. Maybe he wanted to be on the bench on purpose. LOL, my friend said maybe he will be a commentator but I doubt Biedrins cares about the game at all. Like you said, he is happily removed lol. Can't believe he was actually playing pro for us at age 18. I thought he was going to be a star. Time flies though, can't believe he was actually playing in 04.

Biedrins was very much into the party scene when he lived in the Bay. He was the one guy that I would see on occasion when I went out. Met him at the strip club and saw him in bars. I guess he was enjoying his money. I guess a lot of pro athletes do, but Biedrins was not performing on the field after a few good years. That one picture that exposed him on the internet where a girl was going down on him in his car was hilarious because it reminded me of the times I saw him having fun. None of that would have been bad if he had performed on the court.

Yeah, Beans was a weird case, but i don't think it can be summed up so easily; I think a lot of things need to happen for that outcome.

He had a weird, up and down career (even in Latvia early on), many injuries, he had been publicly embarrassed by his coach and others aboout his FT% (all that stuff about shooting underhand) and his constant foul trouble, him feeling like the team lost all confidence in him by aggressively pursuing every big-man FA at the first sign of trouble with him. Look, I'm not making excuses for the dude, I mean, ultimately you're a man - stand up and be accountable - but I just don't think it's as simple as, he was all about the cash.

It's also not like he was completely apathetic - you'd see him get excited on the bench (surprisingly) and appeared to earnestly try to contribute when given the opportunity. I think the dude just lost it: passion, confidence, motivation, and respect. For an 18 year old kid taken in the 1st round (he was the youngest player in the league) out of an impoverished country, playing a game he likely had little interest in to begin with because he was probably forced to play due to his size, he just couldn't overcome the hurdles.

We're obviously much better off, and the money he made would make his family wealthy for generations in former Soviet-block Latvia.

JREED wrote:Yeah, Beans was a weird case, but i don't think it can be summed up so easily; I think a lot of things need to happen for that outcome.

He had a weird, up and down career (even in Latvia early on), many injuries, he had been publicly embarrassed by his coach and others aboout his FT% (all that stuff about shooting underhand) and his constant foul trouble, him feeling like the team lost all confidence in him by aggressively pursuing every big-man FA at the first sign of trouble with him. Look, I'm not making excuses for the dude, I mean, ultimately you're a man - stand up and be accountable - but I just don't think it's as simple as, he was all about the cash.

It's also not like he was completely apathetic - you'd see him get excited on the bench (surprisingly) and appeared to earnestly try to contribute when given the opportunity. I think the dude just lost it: passion, confidence, motivation, and respect. For an 18 year old kid taken in the 1st round (he was the youngest player in the league) out of an impoverished country, playing a game he likely had little interest in to begin with because he was probably forced to play due to his size, he just couldn't overcome the hurdles.

We're obviously much better off, and the money he made would make his family wealthy for generations in former Soviet-block Latvia.

Yea that's true, he was completely upbeat on the bench. So that doesn't make sense and does make his case very weird. Seems like he liked the game based on his excitement from the bench. And your'e right, when he came in the game he did hustle and try to play a lot of defense.

Weird how he never comes backs and visits. Never hear anything about him. At least BD, J-Rich, and Azubuike have come back to work or visit.

Biedrins was a pretty nice guy though, based on when I met him. Acted like a normal dude, not arrogant. He gave me his autograph in the strip club (him and Chabarkaba) and talked to me at the club in Union Street after we lost the Utah game at home in the playoffs. He remembered me too, shook my hand. Him and his old buddy Zarko Chabarkaba.

Well, there's a pretty big difference between how Beans and the rest of those guys you mentioned are viewed:

Buike is a Warrior for life, because we're the only fanbase that'll know who he is/was now or even 5 years from now.

JRich will forever be a Bay Area legend and favorite of an entire generation of Warriors fans. He was a great player, though he mostly gained national-notoriety for being one of the greatest dunkers of all time - at a time when people cared.

Bay Area/NorCal fans will forever be torn on BD, because he was reasons 1-5 for the We Believe run and we'll love him for that, but him sandbagging us for the Clips was borderline unforgivable. I do think the majority of us forgive him for his traitorous move.

Beans will forever be the guy that got paid and never lived up. Many fans like 32 justly feel robbed, and there's no doubt that contract hurt us for a long time in NBA years. There was just too much bad on the backside of that relationship for him to ever be redeemed. You mentioned his party-boy persona that the media used as justification for his poor play, similarly, many fans will look back fondly on Nelly, which won't end well for Beans either when they recall the media pitting them against each other.

Like I said, I think a lot of things need to happen for that outcome. In his case, they did.